Travel Guides

Brandenburg Gate

The impressive and symbolic Brandenburg Gate that lay forlorn
for so long in the no man's land behind the Berlin Wall, is now
once again renovated and accessible, along with the newly
reconstructed Pariser Platz that links the gate to the beautiful
Unter den Linden Boulevard. The Brandenburg is Berlin's only
remaining city gate, built of sandstone between 1788 and 1791, with
12 Doric columns according to a design by C.G. Langhans. Six
columns support a 36-foot (11m) transverse beam, similar to the
propylaeum of the Acropolis in Athens; the massive gate is topped
with a stunning statue of the Goddess of Victory facing east
towards the city centre, which was added in 1794. The gate is
closed to traffic, as is the adjacent Pariser Platz, a gracious
square that was once surrounded with beautiful buildings sadly
destroyed in the Second World War. Since the fall of the Berlin
Wall new buildings have been built, however, to designs closely
following those of the originals.

It is easy to hire a guide for the area and it is worthwhile
because the Brandenburg Gate has an intriguing history and a
special place in the German culture and hearing about its
significance and past from a local greatly enriches the visit.